Each year I make it my goal to read 24 books. That's basically two a month. This year I managed to polish off 31 books so it would seem that I was reading when I should have been doing something else. I share this list with the hope that maybe you'll find something here that you'd like to read.
"The Beatles Lyrics" by Hunter Davies. Davies wrote the authorized biography of the Beatles. Being so close to the Fab Four he came to possess a number of hand-written lyrics of their songs. He writes the story behind those songs and other lyrics he was able to locate. If you're a Beatles fan you need to read this book.
"Till the Nigh Be Past" by Theodore Kleinhaus. A short, easy to read biography of Deitrich Bonhoeffer.
"The Keeper" by Tim Howard. Inspirational story by the goalie of the USA Soccer team.
"A Clash of Kings" by George RR Martin. Part of his "Game of Thrones" series. I don't subscribe to HBO so I've been reading the books. After a while you just can't put the books down.
"A Sleeping Life" by Ruth Rendell. A detective fiction story from one of the best. She passed away in 2015.
"George Harrison - Behind the Locked Door" by Graeme Thomson. A major biography about the "quiet" Beatle. The book shows that Harrison was anything but quiet.
"The Bat" by Jo Nesbo. Saw Nesbo interviewed by Charlie Rose so I had to read the book. It featured several interesting plot twists.
"First Family - Abigail and John Adams" by Joseph J. Ellis. Ellis is my favorite historian and he provided many interesting insights into our second President and his impressive wife.
"Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian. It was interesting to read how confessional theology had impacted a reformed churchman.
"You Can't Make This Up" by Al Michaels. Michaels has done it all in sports broadcasting. Nothing will ever come close to his "Do you believe in miracles" call at the 1980 Olympic USA-Soviet Union hockey game.
"Death of an Expert Witness" by PD James. A detective fiction story from my favorite author.
"The War by the Shore" by Curt Sampson. Tells the story of the hot contested Rider Cup when it was held in South Carolina.
"No Man's Nightingale" by Ruth Rendell. I had to have a second helping of Rendell.
"Porch Tales" by Phillip Gulley. No one spins a tale like Gulley.
"A Short Guide to a Happy Life" by Anna Quindlen. I highly recommend this short book. Her insights make sense.
"Beatles vs. Stones" by John McMillian. I thought I knew just about everything about the Beatles but McMillian offered some new insights while showing the strategy of how the two bands were presented to the public.
"Motivation for Ministry" by Nathan R. Pope. One of the best books I read last year, written by a veteran pastor. I'll read it again this year (and every year I'm in ministry).
"A Storm of Swords" by George RR Martin. Book three in the "Game of Thrones" series.
"The Beatles - An Oral History" by Pritchard and Lysaght. The Beatles - in their own words.
"Killing Patton" by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. A breezy read with some interesting insights.
"The King's Speech" by Mark Logue and Peter Conrad. "The King's Speech" is on my top ten best movie list. Logue writes about the friendship between a King and his grandfather.
"American Sniper" by Chris Kyle. The book which inspired the movie. \
"That Magic Feeling" by John C Winn. An analysis of Beatles recordings from around 1967 to their breakup. Not as interesting as I thought it would be.
"The Original Jesus" by Daniel Darling. It ready like a modern day, "Your God is too Small."
"Love Casts Out Fear" by Brother Nathan. Want to know what it's like to be a Christian in the Middle East. This is the book to read.
"American Sphinx" by Joseph J. Ellis. A second helping of Ellis as he writes about Thomas Jefferson.
"Ringo - With a Little Help" by Michael Seth Starr. A major unauthorized biography of the drummer of the Fab Four.
"The Story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer" by Michael Van Dyke. A short biography of Bonhoeffer. Some details varied from other books I've read about Bonhoeffer.
"House of Living Stones" by Katie Schuermann. One of the most enjoyable reads on this list. Schuermann is the wife of an LCMS pastor who has crafted a "Mitford-Jan Karon" style book.
"Glory Days" by Max Lucado. The latest from the pen of this skilled writer and pastor.
"The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins. This book spent months at the top of the New York Times best seller list. A unique story. The clues are there to solve the mystery - if you can identify them.
This year I've started with the major biography of George Bush 41 and I'm reading the latest by Phillip Yancey. I hope you're able to fill some of your days in 2016 with the pages of a great book. See you at Barnes and Noble (or Goodwill!).
